Cats in the Tower
by JoAmazing
Summary: Steve acquires a box of five little cats and the Avengers quickly become attached. Domestic!Avengers friendship fic with some slightly angsty moments but mostly team bonding and stuff like that. Was going to include more angst, Chitauri, and a Dark!Steve, but we changed our minds and now it's a purely fluffy fanfic. No slash.
1. Inferiority Complex

_Author's note: Hey everybody, this is (surprisingly) not JoAMazing! I am her sister, PlushChrome. And this story is, pretty much, an accident. This entire first chapter was written by JoAmazing (who is too busy writing Liesmith to post this herself. XD Lazy much?) Anyway! Jo was writing this really cute little story about Cats in the Tower. It was fun, light, and might've slightly mentioned a little bit of angst here and there, but nothing major. All in all, it was written as a domestic Avengers fic, with no major plot or anything like that. As far as I know. 'Cause once she got me involved in chapter two, it escalated quickly. And I mean, super angsty, tension, and fighting between Steve and Tony. With overprotective JARVIS and Tony talking about his dad and then the Chitauri show up, and like it says in the summary, we end up with a Dark!Steve. Because, really, evil Captain America just sends shivers down your spine. SO ANYWAY! Lengthy Author's note just about over. (We're also planning on bringing Loki in, but we're leaving it open in case we decide not to.) So, first chapter is all Jo. Second chapter, is still pretty Jo, but I'm heavily involved. Also, we're both super busy, and even though we only have about seven Avengers stories posted here online between the two of us, we have about sixty Avengers stories we write together total here at home. Only the great ones get posted. Here's another great. Enjoy._

_So I ramble. Sue me. ~PlushChrome_

**_EDIT: So, (still PlushChrome here) It's been a few days since we posted this. Now, I try very hard to be perceptive. Like really, I try as much as I can to be perceptive. But sometimes, I'm totally oblivious to what people feel, and then it hits me later like a ton of bricks. The point to all this? I accidentally took over my sister's cute little story and turned it into something she didn't really want it to be, and I didn't see that until later. We're not gonna change either of these chapters, but don't worry, we're not gonna keep this as angsty as it was, and we're NOT gonna have Dark!Cap. I promise, we've got everything all planned out, it's not even gonna happen. Something else happens instead, and Steve's fine. And then we're gonna get back to the real story, the cute story of Jo's that I accidentally kinda messed up in chapter two. So, if chapter two turns you off, bear with me, I'm still learning. You know, how to read people like I can read stories._**

* * *

They all knew it would happen someday, Steve Rogers coming home to Avengers Tower with a cat or a dog or a bird that he saved, but that did not mean that Tony had to be happy about it.

He, Clint, and Bruce were all hanging out in the kitchen. They were all extremely bored, especially Clint due to Natasha being away on business, and were arguing about who should make the coffee when Steve came in with a cardboard box in his arms that said 'KITTENS' on the side.

"Uh, that had better not be what I think it is," Tony groaned, though there was no mistaking that. "Look, I don't want any strays in my tower. I thought we talked about this."

"Dude," Clint said, jumping from his perch on top of the fridge and landing next to Steve. "The press is gonna eat this up. I can see the headlines already; _Captain America rescues kittens!_"

"His puppy helps," Tony muttered under his breath.

"What?" Bruce asked him curiously.

"Nothing," Tony said airily. "Just this thing that a kids toy says when you press a certain button. Pepper, um, made me babysit her nephews. That fire truck was mysteriously destroyed."

"I didn't rescue these," Steve protested. "I found them on our doorstep. And I don't see why rescuing them would be such a bad thing anyway."

"No," Tony said right away. Steve frowned.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say yet," He said, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah I do," Tony said sternly. "And the answer is no. No way. I hate animals and they hate me."

"Come on, Tony," Steve pleaded. "We have no idea where they came from, there's not even a note!"

"Nope. Never," Tony said. "Cats are durable, they'll live without us."

"We can't just turn them out on the street," Bruce said logically. "We'll have to find them a home."

"I know that trick," Tony sighed. "You think that if we keep them here for a while, I'm gonna get attached. But that's, uh, not gonna happen. I don't do cats or pets."

"Good morning, shield brothers," Thor said, coming into the room. "What do you have in that box, Friend Steve?"

"Thor, we are not keeping them," Tony said firmly.

"What do you mean, I..." Thor trailed off as Steve pulled a gray calico kitten from the box and showed it to him. _"Awww."_

"No," Tony said again, taking the cat before Thor could grab it. "I told you, we're not keeping - OW!"

The little kitten bit his finger, and when Tony dropped it, the cat shot away from him and under the kitchen table.

"Do you see?" Tony exclaimed as Thor got on his hands and knees to try and coax the cat out from it's hiding spot. "Cats hate me!"

"You just startled it," Thor defended the cat.

Steve pulled another cat from the box, this one blonde with orange on the top of it's head and on it's paws, and handed it to Bruce.

"They are cute," Bruce said, fondling the cats ears.

"Not you too, Bruce," Tony groaned. "I thought we were a team."

"Sorry, Tony," Bruce said with a smile, handing Tony the cat. "But this one looks like your suit."

"It does not," Tony grumbled, taking the cat and holding it away from him.

"That's a he," Bruce told him. "And he really does. See the red on his paws? And the red and gold on his face looks like your helmet."

"Whatever," Tony said, tossing the kitten to the floor.

"Tony," Steve exclaimed disapprovingly as the cat hit the floor. "You don't just throw kittens around like that! They're fragile!"

The red and gold cat stood up and yawned before batting at Tony's leg. "Hey!" He said, pulling his leg away. "Stop that."

"Apparently not _very_ fragile," Clint remarked with an eye roll. "And it just wants to get up again."

"Then why don't _you_ pick it up?" Tony demanded, inching away from the kitten.

"Because I already have one," Clint said, gesturing to his lap where, sure enough, a pure orange kitten was sitting.

"How did you..." Steve started, furrowing his eyebrows and looking at the box next to him. He hadn't seen Clint anywhere near it.

Clint smirked.

"I am calling him Aumunder," Thor proclaimed, having finally gotten the grey cat out from under the table. The cat now was placed on the blonde's shoulder.

"How about 'We're not getting attached to these things'?" Tony suggested. "You can't name them!"

"But I already did," Thor said as if that changed everything. "Does he not look like an Aumunder?"

"He could look like Grumpy Cat and I still wouldn't want him," Tony said.

Thor gave him the puppy dog eyes and Aumunder hissed.

"We'll compromise," Bruce told Tony soothingly. "We'll try to find the cats a good home, but until we do, they'll stay with us."

"What's gonna happen when you all get attached?" Tony sighed. "And Thor cries when they have to leave?"

"I will not cry," Thor said, looking scandalized.

"Bruce, that is an excellent idea," Steve smiled as he pet the pure blonde cat he was holding. The cat purred. "You see that?" He smiled down at the feline. "Louise likes the idea, too."

Tony groaned. 'I'm gonna go down to the workshop," he said. "I'll run some ads for a good home while I'm down. DON'T get too attached." With that, the billionaire left, and Steve looked back into the box.

"This is the last one," he said, pulling a little brown kitten from the box. Clint's favorite cat hissed at it, and the little kitten backed against the couch.

"Whoa there, cat," Clint said, stroking his cat soothingly. "You know what? This cat needs a name. I can't keep calling it cat."

"What about Sally?" Steve suggested.

"I like the name Celina!" Thor exclaimed, walking forward to sit on the couch.

He almost sat on the little brown cat, who mewed pitifully and darted away just in time.

Bruce, who had been debating whether or not to join Tony in the workshop, let out a small gasp.

"What is it?" Thor asked him curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Bruce told him. "It's just, you almost sat on the little brown cat."

"Oh, my sincerest apologies, brown cat," Thor said to the cat. Aumunder jumped on his lap and batted at the brown kitten.

"Aumunder," Thor scolded, pulling the cat away. "That is no way to treat your brother!"

Aumunder simply bit down on Thor's hand and curled into a ball.

"How about... Lillianne," Clint suggested for the red cat.

"No, that doesn't suit her," Steve said contemplatively. "How about Lilac?"

"That's a stupid name," Clint frowned. "And she seems more refined than that. Like a Karina or something."

"No, that's Spanish," Steve protested. "And she's not the Spanish type."

"You're right," Clint agreed. "She's more... French. Something like Mara Anne."

"I like the Anne part," Steve agreed. "And the two different names. What about Ava Anne?"

"Thor, you have to be more careful than that," Bruce exclaimed as Thor had flung out one of his arms and actually hit the little cat across the face. "You're a lot stronger than you think and this cat is much smaller than you."

"Aye, my apologies once again, little kitten," Thor said solemnly, while trying to pick up Aumunder, who had dug his claws into his pant leg. "Aumunder! Get off!"

He finally wrenched the stubborn kitten off of him, but accidentally launched it at the brown kitten, who darted away so quickly that he fell off the couch and then spun around and ran away, half climbed the curtains (Tony wouldn't be happy) and perched on the windowsill.

Aumunder mewed and climbed up Thor until he was perched on his head. Thor yiped and pulled the cat off of his head, but held it so that he wouldn't try again.

"I'm thinking more like..." Clint trailed off and started laughing at Thor, having just tuned into the other conversation.

"I think you got the difficult one, Thor," Steve chuckled sympathetically. Aumunder hissed at him and snapped his claws into Thor's arm.

"Indeed, friend," Thor said before he smiled slightly. "But I do like him very much. Perhaps he will not be so unmanageable once he is more used to us."

"He certainly seems attached to you," Bruce agreed, but he was distracted, as the brown cat was still shaking on the window sill. "Hey," To the brown cat. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

"So, I'm thinking maybe Iva," Clint told Steve. "Iva Anne?"

"That doesn't sound long enough," Steve said. "Maybe Iva Celina. That would make Thor happy."

"This isn't Thor's cat," Clint pointed out. "He has that demon cat already."

"Aumunder is not a demon!" Thor exclaimed, offended. "He's just uncertain of his surroundings. Isn't that right, Aumunder?"

"You have Louise and Bruce is already worrying about that brown cat-" Clint started, making Bruce turn around.

"I'm not trying to get attached," He said uncertainly, gesturing to the cat on the sill. Both Clint and Steve looked doubtful.

"You've been worrying about it ever since Tony left," Clint said. "I can tell. I think it's cause you couldn't worry about Tony anymore." Before Bruce could comment, Clint looked up, startled. "Hey, where's that blonde and orange one that you said looked like him, anyway?"

"I don't know," Steve answered for Bruce. "I think it must've followed him. I'll go get it."

He made to stand.

"No, wait," Clint protested. "Leave the cat be. I bet that by the end of this week, Tony's attached to it."

"Who could resist these adorable creatures?" Thor agreed ecstatically.

"Plus, he's way too vain to turn out something that looks like him," Clint laughed.

"How about Iva Annemarie?" Steve piped up, still looking at the red cat, trying to decide.

"How about Iva Annalisa?" Thor chimed in, as he rifled one handedly through Tony's cupboard, and then he tossed a can over his head in frustration. "THIS FOOD IS COMPLETE RUBBISH!"

"Whoa, Thor, what's wrong?" Steve said at the same time that Clint said "That's it! Iva Annalisa!"

"The Man of Iron has no food that's appropriate for little beasts!" Thor shouted. "He has absolutely NO ANIMAL FOOD!"

Aumunder swiped at him in annoyance.

"Look, it's fine," Steve said. "We can get some cat food. And while we're at it, we can get a litter box - or a few litter boxes, more like - and maybe even some cat toys."

"Good idea," Clint agreed. "We need a cat tree as well. And some laser pointers and those mechanical mice that run on batteries."

"Yeah," Steve said, though he looked slightly confused. "When do you think we should go to the store?"

Bruce tuned them out as he reached up to the window sill, petting the brown kitten gently. "Hey," He said to it softly. "I'm Bruce." The cat blinked at him with big blue eyes, making Bruce smile. "We're not gonna hurt you. Thor's a little rough, but he's used to bigger animals."

After a few minutes, the kitten let Bruce pick it up, and the doctor walked him back to the couch. The little kitten curled up against him and yawned.

"Poor Tony," Clint smirked, watching Bruce stroking the kitten. "Now he really doesn't have anyone on his side. We're totally keeping these cats." He looked thoughtful. "I wonder what Tasha will say."

"For some reason she doesn't strike me as the pet type," Bruce said with a small smile. "But I don't think they'd bother her that much. Poor Tony."

"Aye," Thor agreed. "It seems as though we are already getting attached, my friends. I would be hard pressed to remove myself from my little Aumunder and Friend Steve seems most devoted to Louise as well."

"Normally I'm not an animal person," Clint said. "But Iva is just so pretty." He petted the orange cat, who purred and blinked her grey colored eyes.

"Guys, we might not be able to keep them," Bruce reminded them. "This is Tony's house."

"That's why we want him to become attached to that McDonalds one," Clint said with an eye roll.

"McDonalds?" Thor asked in confusion. "I do not understand. I thought the one similar to Friend Stark has yet to acquire a name."

"McDonalds is a restaurant," Steve told him. "It's colors are red and yellow."

"Hence McDonalds cat," Clint said. "That's not it's actual name. I bet it's name will end up being something like Kitty Stark or some other stupid thing like that. It's the kind of thing Stark would do."

"We should get them all collars," Steve spoke up. "With their names on them and a phone number or address so if they get lost people can know they belong to somebody."

"Steve," Bruce cut in warily. "They're not actually ours yet."

"Mmhm," Clint nodded. "And that's why you're gonna go talk to Tony and get him all attached to Goldie. I'm sure he followed him down stairs anyway."

"But-" Bruce protested.

"We'll watch the brown one," Clint said, waving an airy hand. "We won't let Thor sit on him or anything. You know you're the only one that Tony will listen to, and if we give these cats away they might end up in a bad place. What if we gave them to some psycho accidentally and they ended up getting drowned?"

Bruce bit his lip and looked down at the brown kitten.

"Doctor Banner," Thor said, his eyes wide. "I could not bear it if something like that were to happen to my Aumunder." He looked down at the calico kitten, now curled up in his arms with its tail swishing occasionally, with adoring eyes.

How he got so attached so fast was beyond Bruce.

"We're not asking for much," Clint said, shrugging his shoulders. "You don't have to tell him to keep them. Just point out the good things about having cats."

"If we can't keep them it's okay," Steve said sadly. "We understand that Tony's not really a cat person. I just hope we can find them a good home."

"Fine," Clint sighed, crossing his arms. "Whatever. Give them away." He pushed Iva Annalisa off of his lap. "Sorry, Girl," He said sulkily. "I can't get too attached if we're just gonna throw you out."

"But Aumunder is already mine," Thor said, looking heartbreakingly sad and confused as he clutched the cat closer to him. "He will not do well on his own."

"He won't be on his own," Bruce said, pushing down his guilt. "We'll get him a good owner."

"But_ I_ am his owner," Thor protested. "I understand him and he loves me." As if to prove Thor's point, Aumunder purred and rubbed his head against Thor's arm.

"And what about Brownie?" Clint asked. "I know, Bruce. And, whatever, we give the cats away." He shrugged again. "But the brown one is terrified of everything, imagine the trouble he could get into and he wouldn't be able to get out of it either."

"Guys," Steve said, holding up his hands. "I want to keep the kittens too, but at the end of the day this is Tony's choice. It's his house, his stuff, and his money we'd be using to pay the expenses. We can't ask him to take in five cats that he doesn't like just because we all want to keep them. We're all living here, and that's a stretch for Stark to begin with, these kittens will just add to how much he has to give. I know he has a lot of money, and we all like the cats, but Bruce is right."

Bruce sighed, putting his head in his hands. They were trying to pull at his heart strings and he knew that. The only one who was probably honest in what they said was Thor, who couldn't lie for the life of him.

They did have their points though. And Bruce had to give Steve credit. He was saying all the right things, but with just enough of an undertone of 'Tony is selfish and we shouldn't try his patience' to make Bruce want to prove him wrong.

Plus, Clint was right when he said that Tony only listened to Bruce. He didn't trust the others or communicate well with them.

It was funny, though, because Clint and Tony got along just fine. And though Tony didn't exactly trust Clint, he was getting closer to the archer little by little. Thor, Tony liked, but never really talked with more than comments on how much Poptarts Thor ate on a regular basis and asking him not to summon thunder in the Tower.

And as far as Steve went, Bruce kind of figured out that there was some bad blood there at least on Tony's part. He was overly light with Steve sometimes, or sometimes he didn't talk to him at all. And as far as respect went, Tony had none, or at least pretended he didn't.

Steve tried to get along with him, but they had conflicting personalities, and when Tony didn't follow orders he tended to get frustrated. He couldn't really see beyond Tony's front of being a jerk, and so the trust between the two was mutually low.

If Steve told Tony to keep the cats, Tony would never even attempt to listen. Even Thor had figured that out.

So it was left to Bruce. He always did the Tony stuff. The dragging him out of his workshop, taking away his wine bottle after a few drinks, telling him that he needs to stop getting himself hospitalized, and talking him into anything and everything.

The brown cat mewed and Bruce groaned.

"How do you guys talk me into this stuff?" He sighed, standing up and handing Clint the brown cat.

"Thanks, Banner," Clint said with an easy smile.

"Indeed, Friend," Thor said, looking relieved. "You have the eternal gratitude of both Aumunder and myself."

"You don't have to, Doctor," Steve tried.

"Yeah, yeah," Bruce muttered, walking out of the room.

Why was it always him?

* * *

Tony was working on his tank missiles, listening to a new find called Skillet when Jarvis interrupted him.

_"Sir,"_ The AI was saying. _"One of the new kittens has gotten into the workshop."_

"How did it bypass security?" Tony demanded, looking up from his work.

_"I don't know, Sir,"_ Jarvis said unhelpfully. _"It's a cat, it may have found it's way through the door."_

Tony frowned. "It's the slidey doors, J," He pointed out, turning back to his suit.

_"Perhaps you should think of removing it before you continue working,"_ Jarvis suggested.

"Ugh, fine," Tony groaned.

He stood and looked around, trying to locate the little monster. After a second, he spotted it standing on one of the tables. It was the one that Bruce had said looked like his suit.

"Hey," He said, stepping toward it. "No. You don't get to be here."

The cat blinked at him and flicked his tail.

"Fine," Tony sighed. "I guess we're gonna do this the hard way."

He went to grab the cat, but it darted away and tried to climb up the leg of one of Tony's new suit projects, slipping down and landing on the ground.

"No, I'm Iron Man, not you," Tony told him. "For one thing, you're not a man. And for another, you couldn't fit into a suit, let alone operate one."

The cat meowed and rubbed up against the leg.

"Yeah, I know," Tony said. "Everyone wants to be me. But you're not human. So you can't. What you can do, however, is let me throw you out, and then you can go hang with your peers."

The cat didn't move, so Tony tried to pick it up again, and this time it worked.

The cat purred and rubbed it's head against Tony's chin.

"That's not going to work on me," Tony informed it, carrying it to the door. "You have to go away so I can actually get something done. Go to Steve and make him give you some milk. He loves cats."

But as soon as Tony dropped the feline, it turned and darted through the door again, blinking at him with big blue eyes.

After several more tries, Tony gave up trying to make the cat leave, but spent the next half-hour of his time glancing around for it, or moving it away from his equipment.

"We talked about this," Tony sighed after tugging the cat away from a disconnected metal arm. "The position of Iron Man has already been filled. You really need to find your own identity."

"Maybe he can be Iron_ Cat,_" Bruce said from the doorway.

Tony whirled around. "Hey," He said, relieved. "Uh, can you get this cat away from me?"

"I think he likes you," Bruce smiled.

"Well, too bad for it," Tony said. "Because I don't like him very well. He keeps trying to get into my stuff."

"Inferiority complex?" Bruce joked. Tony shrugged.

"May be," He said professionally. "It's hard to tell with these sort of case - Hey!" The last part was directed to the red and gold cat, as it had just jumped on his shoulder and was now staring at Bruce.

"So," Tony said, ignoring the animal on his shoulder for now. "How attached is everyone getting?"

"Well, Steve and Thor are already talking about cat toys," Bruce relayed. "And Steve and Clint finally agreed on what to name the orange one. It's now Iva Annalisa."

"Great," Tony said, rolling his eyes before something occurred to him. "Wait, weren't there five? I know Iron Cat's down here..."

"Yeah, there were five," Bruce nodded. "The other one is probably still upstairs. Either that or he followed me down here. I think he chose me as his person."

"That would be the little brown one," Tony deduced. "The one that Steve never took out of the box."

"He took him out once you left," Bruce said. "But the kitten seemed really cautious. Didn't want to walk around too much. And Thor was being a bit rowdy so I took him and put him on the couch with me."

"And his name?" Tony asked, thinking that of course Bruce would've picked the little quiet one who was almost stepped on. Bruce blushed.

"I-I haven't picked one," He said.

"But you have one in mind," Tony guessed. When Bruce didn't say anything, he sighed. "Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking about Schrodinger," Bruce admitted.

"Like Schrodinger's cat," Tony nodded. "Only you could come up with a name like Schrodinger. So we have Iva Annalisa, Louise, Aumunder, and Schrodinger."

"Don't forget Iron Cat," Bruce said.

Tony looked at the cat on his shoulder, who blinked back at him, and then Tony picked him up and deposited him on the floor before walking away.

Iron Cat gave him a wounded look before following him, and Bruce chuckled. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"So are you gonna tell me to keep the cats?" Tony asked after working for a while, as he welded two wires together.

Bruce frowned, holding onto Iron Cat so that he wouldn't get in the way and wondering where on earth Tony had gotten tiny little cat goggles.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Bruce said. "I'm not going to say I don't want to keep the cats, but I know where you're coming from. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Is that what Steve told you to say?" Tony asked, smirking.

"No," Bruce told him. "He said something more like 'this is Tony's house and we don't have a say in it'."

"He said that?" Tony faked a laugh and turned back to his work.

"I think he was trying to help," Bruce lied.

"Right," Tony said. "Perfect Captain America."

"I didn't say that," Bruce protested. "And neither did Iron Cat. We're on your side." To lighten the mood.

It worked. Tony fondled the kitten's ears and gave Bruce an affectionate pat on the shoulder before turning back to his work.

Bruce had no idea why everyone thought he was so cold hearted.

"So," Tony said. "Schrodinger didn't follow you down here?"

"I don't think so," Bruce said, looking around cautiously. "Like I said, he might've. But Clint had him when I left."

"Didn't he have the orange one?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, he did," Bruce agreed. "Iva. But she seemed slightly more independent."

"Pepper's gonna love this," Tony sighed as he stopped welding and took off the goggles. "She's always liked cats and now we have five."

Bruce tried not to smile. Tony was already saying he wanted to keep the cats, subconsciously of course.

_"Sir,"_ JARVIS said from the ceiling._ "It appears that the brown cat – Little Schrodinger – Is outside the door. I assume he is looking for Doctor Banner."_

Bruce grimaced apologetically.

"Fine," Tony sighed. "Go get him, I'm fine with it."

"Thanks Tony," Bruce said, walking to the clear door and clicking it open. Schrodinger padded in and stopped at Bruce's legs, seeming scared of Tony, who took Iron Cat from Bruce and grinned.

"So this is it," He said. "Yep. The small weaker kitten who's scared of people. Your type."

"And of course you would pick the ambitious, out-there cat who wants to be Iron Man and can fit in your tiny safety goggles," Bruce countered.

"I don't even know where I got those," Tony said with a small shrug. "Maybe Pepper got them?"

"Do you have two?" Bruce asked, motioning to Schrodinger. "Cause if not I'm thinking we'll have to put Schrodinger out for now."

"Uh, JARVIS?" Tony called. "Do we have two sets of tiny safety goggles?"

_"I was unaware we had one set, Sir,"_ the AI responded.

Tony pursed his lips and then groaned. "Alright, no more welding for now," He conceded, pulling the little goggles off of Iron Cat and pushing his own pair up so that they looked like odd sunglasses.

Bruce did the same with his own goggles.

"Maybe I'll work on some less dangerous projects," Tony said thoughtfully, setting Iron Cat on the work table. "JARVIS, pull up the blueprints for the StarkPhone II: H- attempt 9."

_"Of course, Sir,_" JARVIS Complied._ "And should I get H-attempt 10 prepped as well?"_

Three minutes later, they were immersed in perfecting all the apps for Clint's personalized StarkPhone mark II, the cats playing on the table.

And when Steve came to get them for breakfast the next morning, he found Tony and Bruce collapsed next to the table, fast asleep with Iron Cat and Schrodinger curled up on their laps.


	2. Ming Dynasty

"You mean we can keep them!?" Thor said ecstatically upon hearing the news.

"Don't give me that look," Tony said with a frown. "You might as well, seeing as how you all already named them and got attached, and bought twelve litter boxes. Twelve. Did you really think we would need so many!?"

"We had to have at least three on each floor," Steve pointed out sensibly. "And since we usually use four floors, we needed twelve."

"And the ten bags of kitten food?" Tony questioned.

Steve blushed. "...They all claimed to be the best, so I thought we'd try them all."

"Okay, how come nobody went with him!?" Tony demanded, turning to the other Avengers.

"I accompanied him," Thor protested.

Tony facepalmed. "Fine, whatever," he said. "But stop acting all grateful and surprised. You're getting on my nerves."

Maybe this was why people couldn't see Tony's lighter side, Bruce thought. Because he was so good at hiding it by acting like a complete jerk. Why couldn't he act like he did around Bruce when he was around the rest of the team? It would certainly solve a bunch of problems.

"So, what'd you end up naming yours?" Clint asked, jumping up to sit on the counter.

"What?" Tony asked distractedly, trying to maneuver past all five kittens and ten bags of cat food and twelve litter boxes.

"What'd you name the cat that looks like you?" Clint repeated.

"You mean Iron Cat?" Tony asked absently.

There was silence.

Everyone started laughing as what he'd said sunk in.

"Didn't I say so!?" Clint panted between laughs. "Didn't I say he'd name it something like that!?"

"Actually, Iron Cat was my idea," Bruce mentioned.

"Are you serious!?" Steve asked, still smiling. "You thought that up?"

"He had a serious inferiority complex," Bruce said seriously.

Tony huffed angrily.

"...I meant the cat," Bruce tried to amend.

"Come on," Clint scoffed. "Like Tony has an inferiority complex."

"Exactly!" Tony said, pointing at Clint like he'd just spoken brilliance. "That's what I said."

"What's an inferiority complex?" Thor asked.

"That's when someone considers themselves inferior to someone else," Bruce relayed. "Like they're less worthy than the other person and are always comparing themselves to him or her."

And Clint didn't know what he was talking about. Not really.

"So see, I don't do that," Tony said with a flippant smile. "No one is even close to comparable with me. I'm just that awesome. That's why… I _am_ Iron Man."

Thor nodded, but still looked a bit confused.

"Whoa, dude," Tony said. "Aumunder is ripping up your cape."

Thor looked down and began trying to pry the kitten from his cape while Clint laughed, and the subject was officially, smoothly, changed. Bruce shook his head.

Sometimes, Tony amazed him.

Abruptly, the door swung open and Natasha came in, pausing when she saw the messy scene in front of her. Thor finally managed to get Aumunder off of his shredded cape and the cat shot away past Natasha, disappearing. The agent turned to them and raised an eyebrow.

"Cats?" She inquired dryly. "Let me guess, Steve brought them in?"

"Why does everyone just assume I go around rescuing kittens?" Steve demanded incredulously.

"Because, Steve," Clint said. "You're Captain America."

Steve blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?" He asked.

"It was totally Steve," Tony said, in answer to Natasha's question. "He's also the one who bought all this stuff. Nobody went with him to the store."

"I've already stated," Thor said. "I accompanied the good captain!"

Natasha sighed in surrender and looked around at the cats. "Well, who's who?" She asked. "And who do I have to look out for?"

"Iva Annalisa is mine," Clint said. "And she's just fine, so you don't have to worry about her. She's the little orange one. And Louise is Steve's, she's not gonna be much trouble. That's the pure yellow one. Iron Cat I don't really know about…"

"Iron Cat," Natasha repeated with a nod. "That one's Stark's, right?"

"Yeah, but Banner picked the name," Clint told her with a grin.

"And no," Tony spoke up. "It's not mine. It's just a cat… that happens to want to be me, which is _why_ Bruce picked the name. And, can you really blame it? I'm not uh, fond of it or anything. In fact, it's really annoying."

"Sure, Tony," Clint said. "Which is why it spent the entirety of last night in your workshop."

"I told you, it wants to be me," Tony said. "He was just down there for the tech. Besides, I spent like, an hour trying to get it out. You can ask JARVIS."

"Anyway," Natasha said with a sigh. "Iron Cat wants to be Stark. There are more cats here."

"Yeah, well, there's Schrodinger," Clint said, looking around for the brown cat.

"Doctor Banner's cat, then," Natasha nodded. "He probably won't be too much of a nuisance."

"And my cat is named Aumunder," Thor proclaimed with a large grin. "He ran past you earlier."

"He's the demon," Clint said. "Out of all of them, he's probably the one that'll give you the most trouble."

"He is not a demon," Thor protested. "He is just… having trouble adjusting. He is misunderstood!"

Tony let out a barely noticeable scoff under his breath. Bruce wondered why.

"Dude, Thor," Clint snickered. "That cat tore up your cape, ripped up Tony's couch cushions, and-"

"He did _what!?_" Tony interrupted. Clint ignored him and continued.

"-And knocked over a whole carton of milk on the kitchen floor," He finished.

"I slipped on it," Steve inputted.

Tony threw his hands in the air and huffed. "I knew this was a bad idea," he said. "I should've put my foot down and sent them away when I still had a chance."

"Dummy cleaned it all up anyway," Clint said, waving an airy hand.

"Yeah, he did," Tony said. "Because he's a _good_ pet."

"Isn't he a machine?" Steve inquired blankly.

"Yeah, well, what difference does that make?" Tony demanded, ever defensive of his precious bots. "He's at least a better behaved pet than Aumunder!"

"What's got you all riled up?" Natasha asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Huh, I don't know," Tony said frustratedly. "Maybe having five kittens brought into my tower and having Steve and Thor go do all the shopping while Aumunder rips up my lounge and I'm accused of having an inferiority complex!"

Natasha raised both eyebrows at that. "Really?" she asked levelly. "I never would have thought."

_"Sir,"_ JARVIS said. _"Aumunder just knocked over the prize Ming Dynasty vase in the gallery. I recommend removing him from the area before he goes for the Van Gogh."_

"GAH!" Tony exclaimed, running from the room.

He was closely followed by Thor, as the Thunderer began yelling "DO NOT HURT HIM, HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD!"

Natasha turned to Bruce as the two left hearing distance. "So, eventful evening, then?" she asked.

"You have no idea," Bruce said with a small smile. He rather enjoyed having Natasha as part of the team. It was obvious that Tony didn't trust her for some reason, but she at least seemed to understand things, unlike Steve, who was somewhat blinded by his lack of experience in todays society, and Thor, who was innocently oblivious. Bruce chalked it up to her abilities as a profiler. At any rate, the mutual levels of perception possessed by the two often led them to sharing glances of amusement whenever Thor loudly proclaimed his misunderstanding of TV soap operas or Clint played a prank on the ever-stoic Captain America, or Tony threw things at other things in fits of pure rage over silly matters.

Which had happened repeatedly, especially if the silly thing had something to do with Steve. And Pepper told them that they were lucky he hadn't yet torn apart a room, while Natasha jokingly responded with their luck that he hadn't yet blown up the building. Apparently, he'd done that before too.

"Something tells me we shouldn't leave Tony and Thor to their own devices," Steve said thoughtfully, standing up and moving to head towards the gallery.

Sharing one of these glances now, Bruce and Natasha mutually decided that they probably shouldn't leave Tony and Thor to their own devices with Steve in the mix, still in Pepper's gallery, and began to follow.

When they got to the Gallery, Thor was holding Aumunder safely in his arm and pouting indignantly at Tony, who was directing Butterfingers as the robot tried to clean up the broken pieces of pottery, and was arguing with Thor.

"I wasn't gonna hurt your stupid cat!" he was saying angrily "I was just going to get him away from Pepper's collection before he ruined every priceless - Well, very very expensive piece in the room!"

"You ought not to have shouted," Thor said petulantly. "It frightened him."

"Yeah, well,_ you_ shouldn't have shouted either," Tony said. "_You_ frightened_ JARVIS._"

_"I was merely concerned with the storm cloud gathering above you, Sir,"_ JARVIS supplied, sounding somewhat reproachful. _"And with the probability of his sound waves shattering the other Ming Dynasty."_

"Well, he frightened Butterfingers," Tony said, addressing the ceiling now. Butterfingers chipped affirmatively. "He even made _my_ heart skip a beat."

_"Which was another reason for my concern, Sir,"_ JARVIS stated, almost cheekily.

"Well, at least no one got hurt," Steve spoke up, catching Tony's attention.

The billionaire glanced at him before turning back to Butterfingers. "Oh, good," he said. "The cavalry's arrived. You didn't bring any more rescues, did you? Maybe a pack of dogs, or tigers maybe?"

"I-" Steve blinked. "Why would I bring tigers to the tower?"

"I don't know, they were in a box?" Tony said absently. "And you felt bad for them, and thought we should give them a home. Tigers in the Tower. That's not the point."

"Then what is the point!?" Steve asked, moving over to stand in front of Tony. Bruce was somewhat reminded of the helicarrier confrontation. "Look, Stark, I don't know what I did, but it's obvious you have some sort of problem with me, now what is it!?"

"Well, this escalated quickly," Clint noted behind Natasha.

"Who says I have a problem?" Tony said with a frown. "I didn't say that. Is someone else talking about me behind my back? You haven't been reading the tabloids, have you? Cap, you can't listen to gossip. It's not good for team trust and all that." He sneered as he said it, which only served to frustrate Steve even more.

"Team trust?" He repeated. "Because you're so big on trust, isn't that right? If you really trusted us, Tony, then why don't you let us in? Why do you lock yourself away all the time and refuse to listen when we say we want to help?"

"You want to_ help!?_" Tony hissed back, standing to his full height. "You want to_ help,_ Rogers? Is that what you call it, _helping?_"

"And what do _you_ call it!?" Steve demanded.

"I call it barging in where you're not wanted," Tony said with a slight sneer.

"Well, fine, if you don't want me to try anymore, I won't," Steve said. "I don't want to be wasting my time."

"Good," Tony said. "Wouldn't want you to be bothered, after losing so much of your precious time in the ice."

With a yell, Steve picked up a small white porcelain angel from a nearby pedestal and held it over his head. For a split second, it looked as if he were going to throw it at Tony, and time seemed to stand still. Then Steve turned and threw the angel across the room, sending it into the other vase, both shattering upon impact.

"Well," Tony said quietly, his face pale and his hand over his heart. "There goes the other Ming Dynasty."

_"Captain Rogers,"_ JARVIS said, his voice surprisingly cold._ "Might I suggest removing yourself from the situation before any more irreplaceable items are lost forever?"_

Steve turned without a word and shoved his way past Bruce, Clint and Natasha.

"There was no need to get nasty," Clint said, turning to Tony once Steve left. "You didn't have to bring up the ice."

Tony didn't answer, just walked over to where Butterfingers was already clearing the second pile, and knelt down, swiping a piece of angel wing and placing it in his pocket.

"It is alright," Thor said, looking at Tony with surprising gentleness and understanding. "I know you would not have harmed Aumunder."

"I think we should go," Natasha said sensibly, and Tony nodded.

"Well, then, uh, Nat, do you want to go work out?" Clint said.

Natasha nodded and the two of them left, leaving only Thor, Tony and Bruce.

Thor, for his part, seemed truly apologetic, but after opening his mouth once or twice, couldn't seem to find the right words, and turned to leave, the look on his face a mixture between deep sorrow and an annoyance with his own lack of tact.

After the Thunderer left, Bruce walked over to Tony and put his hand on the billionaires shoulder. He didn't say anything, just offered his silent support.

"I don't know what happened," Tony finally said. "I just… I was so angry… I couldn't help myself."

"I know," Bruce said.

"I don't think I've ever been so mad in my life," Tony said. "Well… No, that's not true. There was Gulmira…"

Bruce decided not to ask.

"It's just…" Tony started. "It's… my dad. He, uh, he never stopped searching, y'know? I mean, all my life… don't get me wrong, my dad was great. But, um, Captain America was just… better. Than me, I guess. You really pegged me with that whole 'inferiority complex' thing."

Bruce didn't mention that he'd been talking about Iron Cat. This was… rather unexpected. Tony never talked about this kind of stuff. He was always laughing and making jokes, and while Bruce had guessed that it was one of his brave fronts, he never thought Tony would actually tell him about the man underneath.

"I mean, nothing I ever did could please the guy, y'know?" Tony continued. "First my tech, then my grades… Then I was drinking too much, I was driving too fast, I was this, I was that… The only thing I never managed to be was Captain America. And now, dad's gone, and Cap's here, and it's all happening all over again, and I feel I can't… I just… nothing I do is good enough, and…" Tony's countenance changed. "And now he goes all Joon on me and almost kills me with my own art, and it's just, life's taken an interesting turn."

And the walls were back up. As suddenly as they had gone down, they were back up, and Tony was back to his brave fronts.

"Eh, well," Tony kicked some of the broken vase pieces. "Pep will be mad, but not like I can't buy more stuff. JARVIS, put some new artwork on the shopping list, will ya?"

_"Sir, I am afraid a matter of the utmost urgency has arisen in the Captain's quarters,"_ JARVIS said instead.

"Oh, did he break something else?" Tony asked in mild surprise.

_"No sir,"_ JARVIS stated, now sounding worried. _"He has visitors."_

* * *

As Steve rushed angrily into his room, clenching his fists, he knew, even as he adamantly refused to admit to himself, that he had gone overboard.

Not only had he said things he regretted, even though he'd been thinking them, he had also stooped to Tony's level and thrown something, destroying a very expensive vase in his rage.

He didn't even know why he was so mad. It was just like… He had kept his cool for so long around Stark, biting down the comments that he so wanted to say to the Inventor, and then everything just built up at that one point. For no reason, he was suddenly furious at Stark.

For not caring. For making everything into one of his stupid jokes. For not trusting them. For… not listening to him! Ever!

_"Captain Rogers,"_ JARVIS said, ever cordial. _"I would like to have a word, if I may."_

"Ah, JARVIS," Steve said. "I suppose that's apt. Maybe you can help me understand some of this."

_"That is indeed my aim, sir,"_ JARVIS said.

Steve nodded. "Thanks," he said, not sure if it was etiquette or not. "You had something to say to me?"

_"Yes sir,"_ JARVIS stated. _"It is in regard to one of the artifacts you broke in the gallery. Miss Potts has a very fine taste in art, you see. Every piece in the gallery was specifically chosen by her, after careful deliberation."_

Steve sighed. "I really do feel bad that I destroyed those vases," he said. "I may not know much about art, but even I could see they were valuable."

_"While the vases were indeed worth much,"_ JARVIS said. _"The most invaluable piece in the collection was one of Tony's choices. The only piece he insisted on having in the gallery, and the centerpiece of the room."_

"The angel," Steve guessed.

_"Correct,"_ JARVIS said.

"How much did Tony have to pay for it?" Steve asked, dreading the answer.

_"The piece was a gift,"_ JARVIS said. _"The last piece sculpted by Miss Potts herself during her time in an art class."_

Well. All the feelings of guilt Steve had been feeling for his outburst now doubled, and he sunk to the bed, his head in his hands.

"Is there any way I can make it up to him?" He asked JARVIS desperately.

_"I am afraid that if there is a way to apologize to Sir without him getting defensive and angry, I have not heard it,"_ JARVIS said. _"But if you have any ideas, I would suggest you implement them as soon as possible. Sir does not "stew" well."_

Steve nodded. "Thank you, JARVIS," he said. "I was… I was way outta line, thank you for telling me this."

_"You're quite welcome, sir,"_ JARVIS said. _"I- IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIaaaaaaaaaerrrrrrrrrrr…."_

"JARVIS?" Steve asked hesitantly. That didn't sound right. It sounded like when a phonograph started skipping. "What's wrong? What happened?"

_"Sir-sir-sir-sir-sir… unauthhhhhori-i-i-i-zed prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsence detehhhhhhhh- rh-rh-rh-rh-rh-rh-rh-rh-rh-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaheeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeerhchchct-"_

With sound like static, JARVIS shut off completely, and the room went dark.

"JARVIS?" Steve asked, even though he knew that JARVIS was gone somehow. A blue light began fading the room, as a very not-from-earth figure stepped in.

"Captain Rogersss…" the figure rasped out with a toothy grin. "Ssso much power… So much bitternesssss… You may have what we need…"

"And what's that?" Steve asked warily, even as he edged towards the door.

"...Heart," The figure stated, as he pulled a scepter from behind his back, and touched it to Steve's chest.


	3. The New Significance

_Hey! Jo here and I just have a few words. Okay so, first things first._

_My sister (the illustrious PlushChrome) was way too hard on herself. That second review in the first chapter? Way. Too. Hard on herself. Let me tell you what really happened. I showed Plushie what I had for Cats so that she could help me through some writers block. We do this often, all the time, and most of my stories are written with input from her. This looked like just another weekday (it may have been on a weekend, but I don't really know)._

_She looked at it, said it was good, said it was cute. She likes Tony, so all the somewhat angst-y moments appealed to her, as well as the Sciencebros friendship, which we both love. She started helping me write some more of the second chapter and it got to the moment of controversy in the Gallery. Suddenly, like lightning, a look came upon Plushie's face._

_"What?" I had said, cause I knew that face. That was the 'I-just-got-one-heck-of-an-idea-face. And that was when she told me her idea. We were both seeing the similarities to the scene in the Helicarrior in the Avengers movie, and we were both wondering why it would've escalated so completely, so why not bring in the scepter, the Chitauri, our favorite misunderstood villain who isn't a villain? Make it an epic saga, make it incredible? And then, Dark!Steve fell out of the air! And it was glorious._

_I loved the idea of Dark!Steve. I adored the idea of a good!Loki. I told Plushie Dearest to go where the wind led her, and, though I did feel a slight pang for my intended teamfic, I was caught in the brilliance of this new story idea. Next hour, I felt a little differently. I liked the idea of a Dark!Steve story a lot, but I missed my cute little fic a lot more than I thought I would, and I knew that if I posted this epic story, I could never write another cute kitten fic._

_Unfortunately, I have a problem. I cannot bring myself to say no. So, getting a late dinner and hearing Plushie talk about posting the first two chapters, I swallowed down any disappointment and tried to convince myself of what I had once been so certain of. Plushie Dearest, for all her incredibleness and insight into other worlds, didn't notice, and posted the first two chapters. So, it was not her fault completely. It was also mine. My love for my sister overcame my author instincts._

_BUT! This story has a happy ending. For lo and behold, come morning, Plushie came to me and was like 'Hey, I was up late last night and it occurred to me that you liked your old story and I got slightly carried away. Dark!Steve Chitauri story doesn't really fit in this story anyway'._

_And I was like 'cool'. And she was like 'yeah'. And then we were like 'how're we gonna fix this?'_

_And so, this long and over dramatic author's note/story thing was really just to say that it wasn't all her fault, and... we fixed it._

_So here it is._

_Jo~_

_(Oh my gosh, Jo. It was not that dramatic. And why do you keep calling me Dearest!? I am not Dearest! I am Iron Man. So there. Anyway, hopefully this will be the last "I'm so sorry" author's note. These are getting seriously out of hand. XD Yeah.)_

* * *

Tony was ticked. Probably more ticked than he should be in this situation.

After all, it wasn't like it was Cap's fault that directly after one of their worst arguments ever he had gotten attacked in the Tower where even more things of his could be destroyed. And nor was he particularly responsible for the fact that Tony's morbid mind had immediately began planning his funeral and writing an obituary.

Tony had his armor strapped into place and had called Natasha and Clint within the span of a minute, taking off flying down the corridors and managing to wreck a couple of end tables and ruin a painting.

"JARVIS," Tony called into his suit. "How's Cap?"

_"Er..."_ JARVIS said hesitantly. _"It is... hard to tell. I believe the Chitauri is experiencing some difficulties."_

"Take me through the wall," Tony commanded. JARVIS complied and he was instantly blasted into Steve's bedroom.

He stopped, gaping at the sight before him.

Steve was lying on the bed, laughing his head off and holding his sides, while a Chitauri warrior flailed around, jumping from foot to foot and waving a familiar looking blue scepter around crazily as he cursed in some alien language.

The reason for his distress was Louise the cat, who was yowling and clawing at the alien's face.

"What," Tony said blankly, turning to Steve.

"He..." Steve gasped out through his laughter. "Heart... Louise... And then..."

Tony honestly wasn't sure what to do in this situation. But the Chitauri warrior did look rather silly, screaming and trying to hit his own face with the scepter. Attacked and felled by the Earth's Mightiest cat. Louise the Chitauri killer.

Tony let out a chuckle, and then he couldn't help but to laugh too. And soon, he was just as hopeless as Steve, leaning against the wall to hold himself up.

"Stark," Natasha said from over the comlink. "What's the situation?"

"We're fine," Tony said, trying to contain his laughter. "Yeah, we're both-both fine. It turns out, L-Louise is... very protective. Sh-she's having fun currently, with our-our dear g-guest."

"Stupid monster!" The Chitauri shouted, managing to smack his shoulder with the sharp end of the scepter. "I HATE THIS ROCK!"

"Oh good," Tony said, calming down a bit. "Then you won't mind if I show you out."

"And... and we'll be taking that," Steve said, still chuckling as he took the scepter out of the Chitauri's hands.

"NO!" The Chitauri screamed, finally wrenching Louise off of his face and tossing her across the room. "I MUST FULFILL THE MISSION!"

"Yeah?" Tony said sarcastically, charging his repulsers and displaying his wide variety of tank missiles. "You wanna rethink that, buddy?"

"I bet this scepter can do a lot more than control someone's mind," Steve pointed out thoughtfully. "Almost as good as a shield, I can see why Loki favored it."

The Chitauri hissed, shifting slightly toward the window. "You ignorant mortals," It spat. "You are all of you beneath me!"

"Tony, need any backup," Clint inquired from the comlink.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we got this covered," Tony informed him. "Right now, Aquamaniac over here is just giving us the 'you are ants' speech. Apparently, he's never watched A Bug's Life."

There was a pause over the comm link before Clint replied: "That makes two of us."

The Chitauri backed against the wall, panting heavily while Lousie jumped up onto Cap's lap and started gracefully licking her paw.

"What'cha gonna do now, Hopper?" Tony asked the Chitauri.

The Chitauri growled. "My master will make you regret your incompetence," He said, taking another step backwards.

"_Our_ incompetence?" Tony laughed. "Dude, you were defeated by a kitten. A _kitten_. You know, I'm embarrassed for you."

"Now," Steve said firmly. "Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

With one last unsatisfied growl, the Chitauri jumped out of the window and onto one of the flying machines they had used in the attack. And before Tony could fire at him with his repulser beams, a black portal opened up and engulfed him.

"Well, that was fun," Tony said sarcastically. "We should hang more often. JARVIS, remind me to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner."

_"I don't believe Miss Potts would approve of that, Sir," _JARVIS said.

"Yeah," Tony agreed with a nod. "Plus, how would we send the invite? I mean, I guess if we found a portal to send the note through or something, that would work. Though I'm not sure he would accept."

Steve opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Er," He said awkwardly. "JARVIS told me about the angel and how important it was to you."

"It wasn't that important," Tony lied with a shrug, putting his hands in his pockets and feeling the wing that he was going to keep. "I can just buy more art."

"Yeah, but you can't repurchase something like that," Steve said with a sigh. "I'll pay for the Ming Dynasty, but-"

Tony had to smile. "Cap, you can't pay for that," He stated, turning to Steve. "One, it's too expensive, and two, I'm a billionaire. If I made you pay for that, that would be viewed as selfish and spiteful by the press. And I don't need that kind of press right now. Also, Pep can just take another art class. I can pay for it... find the time for her to go do it. I'd have to like, take a press conference for her, or attend some board meetings so she can have a few free evenings. But, it honestly wouldn't be all that hard, all things considered."

Steve blinked. "...It still won't be that same angel," He said slowly, as if Tony didn't understand. "She made it for you, and I just broke it without thought. I didn't even think it was important until JARVIS-"

"It's _not_ important," Tony snapped. "JARVIS must've been mistaken. If I want another angel statue, I'll buy another angel statue and that's that. What is - Why do you even care, Cap? Why does this matter so much to you? That whole room wasn't even mine, it was Pepper's. She's the one who cared about that stuff. And the only reason I had that angel in the gallery was to include an unorthodox art piece that no else had so that I could rub it in peoples faces. I could've scrapped the whole room myself, so it doesn't matter, so you should stop feeling guilty."

"Whether or not that angel was important," Steve said in a tone of voice that told Tony he wasn't buying his lies for a second. "It was still wrong of me to lose my temper. It was wrong for me to even say all that stuff to you. I don't even know what got into me."

"Yeah well," Tony sighed, frowning down at the scepter still in Steve's hands. "Figures, really. Last time we duked it out like that, the glowstick was right there. I'm actually pretty sure it was charging things because usually, I'm a lot less blunt when I fight with someone."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, his voice growing slightly tense. "It's always underhanded in some way, isn't it?"

"Whereas you're normally a lot more 'understanding', right?" Tony responded coolly. "Trying to make other people see the world the _right_ way? The Cap way?"

Steve frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but then smiled. "I think we'd better get rid of this thing," He said, gesturing to the scepter. "I don't trust my mouth with it around."

Tony frowned, realizing they had slipped into arguing yet again. It really wasn't conducive to the team to have that kind of weapon around. "Right you are," He said briskly. "I'll call Fury, have him send somebody to come pick it up and take it away. Seems like the best course of action. But uh, we should lock it in some somewhere until then. I've got a few safes that it'll have a hard time reaching through. They're enhanced with Stark tech."

"It'll probably be _safe_ there," Steve said with a small smile.

"Ugh, that was bad," Tony groaned. "Bad safe joke. Have you been hanging out with Spider-Man again? Because I've told you before Cap, the kid is great, but he is the king of puns and you're liable to pick it up. Remember what happened after Thor did that mission with him in New Jersey?"

"Don't remind me," Steve said. He left with the scepter, probably to go find someplace _safe_ to stick it.

Tony smiled as soon as the door closed, pulling the white angel wing from his pocket. The significance level of the relic had just gone through the roof.

Pepper had made it just for him, and he had proudly showed it off for months now. It was his favorite piece, and one of the things that he allowed himself to be sentimental about, and one of the only items he had that he actually cared about, despite having a huge reputation as someone who cared more for money and possessions than for people.

No matter what he said, Tony could never replace it. And Steve Rogers – _Captain freaking_ _America_ – had destroyed it. And he felt bad, and saw what it meant even though Tony had told him otherwise. And he had actually taken the time and effort and energy to apologize, not letting him blow it aside.

Like it somehow mattered to him – to _Captain freaking perfect America _– that he had been hurt.

It felt kind of good.

And he had Louise to thank for it.

* * *

It was two AM when Natasha was woken up by a light, almost unnoticeable creak.

Immediately, she grabbed the gun under her pillow and jumped to her feet, leveling the weapon at the door to her bedroom, which was very slowly being eased open. She raised a hand to her comlink (which she slept with in her ear) and tapped it to turn it on, ready to speak into it if she needed to and call Clint (who also slept with his. They kept them on and connected at all times, even on solo missions).

Instead of the expected enemy, a little kitten came through the door. It was the one with the blonde and orange fur, and the blue eyes that were at the moment glowing in the dark. Iron Cat indeed.

Natasha sighed and lowered her gun, turning off her comlink and laying back down in bed to try and sleep some more. Unfortunately, she could hear the cat as it padded across the floor, her spy instincts not letting her relax. Then it got quiet and of course, it was too quiet for the stupid cat because the door hadn't creaked again so it was still in the room. And then it jumped up onto the bed. She could hear the sound it made when it sprung, not to mention the soft _thump_ when it landed and the slight dip in the then the rumbling started up again.

Natasha rolled over to look at the little monster and frowned. "Go annoy Stark," She suggested. The cat only purred louder, blinking its big eyes.

She didn't sleep at all, and finally ended up just getting out of bed at four and starting the coffee early (every day it started brewing at seven on the dot so that whenever Tony came up from the lab it was all ready).

However, when Natasha opened a cupboard to find the bread, there was a cat in the cupboard who had somehow managed to get into a bag of Cheetos puffs. And of course, it was Iva Annalisa, Clint's cat. The orange all around her mouth was made almost less visible due to her fur, but she looked up and twitching her tail threateningly.

The bread was right next to the cat, the packaging getting hit with the swishing tail. Natasha rolled her eyes and went to the refrigerator, taking out a thing of jelly and smiling when she heard Iva jump down from the cabinet.

From the counter onto the floor. Three steps toward the fridge. Four more, she was getting confidant. The cat jumped up onto the oven, which thankfully wasn't on, and peered at Natasha curiously.

Natasha went and got her bread, but the cat continued to follow her around the kitchen. Even when she stopped making things and sat down to eat, Iva sat herself on the kitchen table and began trying to lick the cheese powder off of her face.

She even tried to drink some milk straight out of Natasha's cup and ended up getting her head stuck. Natasha had to help her out and then dump out her whole glass of milk. And then Iva attempted to dry the milk off of her face by rubbing up against Natasha's jeans.

Clint entered just in time, because Iva had pushed against the coffee machine and, having been set precariously close to the edge (most likely by Thor), knocked it over the side of the counter.

Figuring that having his coffee spilled over the kitchen floor would just serve to turn Tony from stressed to angry, Natasha had jumped across the room and caught the machine just in time, making sure the pot itself didn't spill out by putting her hand against it despite the heat.

"Whoa," Clint said, having seen her leap and rushing over to pull the machine out of her hands and place it on the counter, along with the pot. "That was close. It's five AM, Nat. How long have you been up?"

"Let's just say, Iron Cat likes attention," Natasha said with a slight sigh. "He's been keeping me up with his purring, and your cat has been getting into everything all morning. She ate all of Thor's Cheetos."

"Ooh, he's not gonna like that," Clint said. "Though it's not like he can say anything, with Aumunder ripping up everything and hissing whenever you come too close. I tell you, that thing is demented."

"I haven't seen much of him yet," Natasha said thoughtfully. "Just a blur of grey."

"Yeah well," Clint shrugged his shoulders. "Good for you. I passed the den on my way up here, and Thor was asleep in front of the TV with Aumunder on his lap. I took a step in the room, and the cat yowled at me. Loudly. And his hair stood on end too. Thor didn't wake up, but I turned around real quick."

"He sounds like a real charmer," Natasha said sarcastically, raising one eyebrow.

"Just be glad he's not your cat," Clint said. "At least Thor's the one who gets the brunt of his attacks."

"And Tony's stuff," Natasha commented idly.

"Ah well," Clint said airily. "He's a billionaire, he can buy more curtains."

"And more furniture," Natasha said. "And more food, and replace everything he's ripped up, and feed them, provide vet care, get them spayed and neutered because we really don't need more kittens, pay for the litter-"

"Yeah yeah, okay," Clint said, frowning slightly. "I guess it's not so very cheap. But still, he's loaded. It's not like we're gonna run him dry."

"Mm, maybe not," Natasha agreed. "But things start to add up after a while. You guys could pitch in, you all have money. Except for Thor, but he has gold coins, so it's practically the same thing."

Clint considered that. "I could pay the vet bills," He said. "At least I could help with some of it."

"It would probably help some," Natasha said. "And I bet Tony would appreciate the gesture."

"I already said I would pay it," Clint said with a smile. "You don't have to keep trying to convince me. I'm also pretty sure Bruce wants to pay some expenses himself, if Tony'll let him. He barely let's Bruce pay for anything."

Natasha had noticed that. Tony bought meals, paid gas money, purchased nice clothes for him, and pretty much got him anything he needed. Or wanted. Or Tony thought he might want. She had seen him do the same thing for Pepper, and she really was starting to worry about his finances.

She knew he had money, the whole world knew he had money, but she didn't know how much. Most people just assumed he had enough to do anything and everything he wanted no matter what it was. He could purchase whole blocks without having to worry.

And to be fair, he had. He spent his money flippantly and generously, and it really had Natasha second guessing her initial report of his general character. At least the narcissistic part.

And now there was this. Five cats he probably didn't really want tearing up his stuff that he had to feed and take care of. It was kind of funny, when she thought about it. That was sort of what the rest of the team had started as in this Tower.

Five teammates he didn't really want, tearing up his stuff (Thor was startled by the television) that he had to feed and take care of.

She thought it had rather worked out with them, Tony seemed pretty happy to have them around most of the time even though they all fought constantly, and she assumed that the inventor would eventually come to like the cats as well. Once he had some time to get used to them and get closer to them, just like the team.

Natasha didn't really care about the cats herself, in fact, they annoyed her. If it was just her, she probably would've ignored the box on the porch, whether or not they needed a home. The others were attached, so she would tolerate them to a certain extent.

The funny thing was, Tony was different. He wasn't a cat person either, and the cats annoyed him too, but if he had found that box full of kittens, he would've wanted to help them. He, Bruce, Thor, and Steve were all the same in that respect.

They would fly into burning buildings for anyone or anything. Some of them literally.

"D'ya ever think," Clint said thoughtfully, staring off into space. "We're living with four different self-sacrificing heroes? I mean, all of them. If there was some beggar guy outside, they would all be falling all over themselves to get him a burger."

"Indian food?" Natasha suggested, the corner of her mouth quirking into a smile. "Or perhaps caviar?"

"Spiced mead and head of boar," Clint said with a laugh. "I'd just give em' a twenty and move on."

As always, she and Clint were on the exact same page.

* * *

_SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That's all._

_Actually, just kidding. That's not all I was gonna say. One! This fic is AU. In case you didn't pick that up. Iron Man 3 didn't happen, and Thor: the Dark World didn't happen. AU all the way. Are we cool on that? Cool. Two! Plushie Dearest is just Plushie Dearest now, and I can't change that anymore than I can change Loki being Lokes, Loks, or sometimes Games, Bruce being Brucey, or Jane being Janey or Jane Dearest. Courtesy of Liesmith, if you haven't read that, you should go read it._

_That's just how the world works now._

_THREE! I'm still totally planning on eventually bringing Lokes IN ON THIS CUTENESS! And it'll be adorable. I've got big plans._

_AND FOUR! I don't have one review for this story yet, and my head is getting all Blah-y. I've been having Captain stinking America writers block again and I need you guys to help me through it. Like, serioooouuuusssllly. Not that I'm whining or anything, but... Go review! Go do it now! I WANT YOU TO! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!_

_Ha ha ha. Me_

_And goodbye. Jo~ (And Plushie. But I'm still not Plushie Dearest. Let's see, maybe instead of PlushChrome, I could be IronPlushie. That's right. I _am_ IronPlushie.)_


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